South Cook News

Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau is criticizing Congressman Sean Casten’s (D-IL) reaction on Twitter to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s President’s Day visit to Elmhurst. 

“Casten was so undone by the meeting that he called the Governor of Florida a ‘racist and a coward,’” Orland Park mayor Keith Pekau said in a press release.   

“This is a go-to insult for Casten. If you disagree with him about anything you’re automatically a racist and a coward... and probably homophobic.” 

“He dismissed Chicago's significant crime problem as a political distraction like “Ebola” and "Crackheads." In fact, Chicago’s total homicides out-paced both New York and Los Angeles in 2022. The city's crime rates are outliers nationally, and therefore are of national concern. If Casten doesn't want people to talk about Chicago crime, he should help reduce it. A great start would be not supporting measures that protect criminals over law-abiding citizens and police.”  

“Finally, Casten summoned the ghost of Art Jones to, of course, cast all Republicans as Nazis.  In 2018, the ILGOP shamefully failed to keep Jones off the ballot for Congress in IL-03. At the time, party leaders issued mea culpas and asked Jones to step down. Republican office-holders across the state issued condemnations of Jones and party leadership. I personally condemned Jones and publicly endorsed his opponent, Democrat Congressman Dan Lipinski, as did every other Republican mayor in the district. And since then, the party has changed its chairman and many other officials. But none of that matters to Sean Casten.  He’s a bitter partisan who sows division and hurls insults at every opportunity.”

Pekau challenged Casten in the 2022 election for the sixth district seat. The district includes Orland Park, Alsip and Oak Lawn and parts of Wheaton, Lombard and Elmhurst.

“So earlier this week a local Elmhurstian (Elmhurster? Elmhurstite?) asked me the question on everyone's mind: "why is Ron DeSantis coming here?" Sharing my theory, because it really goes to the heart of today’s @GOP," Casten said in a tweet.

Casten answered himself in the thread. “Short answer: he's a racist and a coward who wants to secure the @GOP nomination for President. And Elmhurst fits the bill on all three fronts,” Casten tweeted.

Casten’s comments came in response to DeSantis’s stop at the Elmhurst Knights of Columbus Hall to speak with law enforcement in a three-state tour on President’s Day. ame in response to DeS

“The reason why you have crime that is spiraled out of control in so many of these different areas is because you have politicians putting woke ideology ahead of public safety,” DeSantis said, FOX 32 Chicago reported. “As you see, massive increases in crime in places like Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco, [and] Philadelphia. Florida has a 50-year low in our crime rate.” 

“As you see, massive increases in crime in places like Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia. Florida has a 50 year low in our crime rate.” DeSantis is making public safety an issue in a run up to his expected presidential run. He visited Illinois after giving speeches in New York and Philadelphia on President’s Day as well as part of his “Back the Blue” events under the slogan “Law and Order: Florida Leading the Way.”